The Palestinian government has reported that Israel has established more than 500 illegal settlements and outposts across the occupied West Bank, affecting roughly 42 percent of the territory.
The Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission released the report to mark Land Day, which Palestinians observe every year on March 30.
The occasion commemorates events in 1976 when Israel confiscated large areas of land from Palestinian citizens within 1948 borders, sparking protests that left dozens killed and wounded.
More than 780,000 Israeli occupiers live in 542 illegal settlements and outposts across the West Bank, according to the report.
These include 192 settlements and 350 outposts, more than 165 of which were established after October 2023, including 59 outposts in 2025 alone.
Israeli planning bodies have reviewed 390 structural plans for settlements in the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem since October 7, 2023, alongside decisions to establish the largest possible number of settlements at 54 sites, the commission said.
Occupier attacks have become a "functional tool to reshape geography in the West Bank, particularly in Bedouin and agricultural communities," the report said, adding that escalating violence carried out "under security and political cover" has displaced at least 79 Palestinian Bedouin communities, either partially or entirely, affecting 814 families and more than 4,700 people.
Geographical fragmentation
Israeli authorities have also issued more than 1,800 demolition orders for Palestinian structures during the same period, including 991 in 2025 alone.
Settlements exercise full control over more than 42 percent of the occupied West Bank, the commission said.
About 61 percent of the territory falls under Area C, as defined by the 1995 Oslo II Accord, where Israel maintains full civil and security control, with more than 70 percent of that land subject to settlement-related classifications, including "state land," nature reserves, and military training zones.
About 15 percent of the occupied West Bank has been declared "state land," much of it allocated for settlement expansion, in addition to 18 percent designated as military training areas.
Settlement construction and jurisdiction areas cover about 12.4 percent of the occupied West Bank, while settlement roads account for more than 3 percent of the territory and contribute to geographic fragmentation.
Some 925 permanent and temporary checkpoints are in place across the occupied West Bank, splitting the territory and restricting the movement of people and goods, the report added.
Since October 8, 2023, Israeli aggressions in the occupied West Bank have killed 1,138 Palestinians, injured about 11,700 others, and led to around 22,000 arrests.
The conflict dates back to 1948, when Israel was established on land taken during the war that displaced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, with disputes over territory and statehood remaining unresolved.
